I woke up when my back started crying out for a respite from the strain of sleeping on the airport benches. I was on the laptop (on battery) which had died on me. The plugs here in Korea are the round ones instead of the flat ones we are used to. I don’t have a problem that it is 110 volts because all my gadgets “convert”. My big problem is that my plug doesn’t work. I had bought an adaptor which is useless because it was supposed to help Korean plugs convert to the usual ones we know (instead of helping our plugs adapt to theirs), and I just don’t want to schlep all the way down to the store where I bought it from, several gates down from the end I’m at right now to return or exchange it. It was around $7. My backpack weighs a ton because of the laptop. My

Happy Feetbakya make my feet “look” happy, but doesn’t necessarily translate to happiness (can’t say I can put all the blame on them for my aching feet after walking up and down this wing of the airport). But with three more hours to go before my flight to New York boards, I’m resisting the urge.

I found a new use for my overloaded backpack which has travelled the world with me. (4x round trip to Manila, 2x to Paris, once to Chartres, Brussels and Bruge.) It made for a good pillow to hug and rest against when I could no longer shake off the urge to sleep earlier. Hugging it, of course, was more out of necessity than anything. I didn’t want to wake up missing some of its precious contents (like my baon, MegaMelt Ensaymada and Bibingkinitan, or worse, missing the whole bag altogether).

So I finally gave in. I grabbed all my things and walked down the hallway again. Although it was a different clerk at the register, she quickly replaced my plug with the right one. No fuss, no scolding, no irritation displayed on her face. Now THAT’s service!